Nursing bottle holders are well known and numerous forms and types have been proposed. One prior type is characterized by means partially or wholly encircling the adult's neck as he or she holds the infant. This type of holder is exemplified by the holders shown in Rodin, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,494,632; Underwood, 3,016,221; Doba, 3,197,099; Dyer et al, 2,764,376; Baucom, 3,365,153; Brooks, 3,144,230; Marquard, 3,850,393; Woodward. 3,977,638; Kelly, 4,537,341; McClure, 4,718,623; Goldson et al, 4,776,546; and Yang, 4,793,533. These devices are effective to hold the bottle, but they generally require adjustment prior to use for effective vertical positioning; they tend to lie on the plane of the chest of the adult and do not permit ready lateral or omni-directional bottle movement, and they permit only limited (if any) horizontal movement by tending to hang towards the center of the adult's body. Moreover, holders of the nature shown in these patents are of a construction which, for the most part, makes it difficult, or even impossible, to put them on or take them off while holding the infant to be fed. In many cases, it is difficult or impossible to secure bottles in the holders while in use; they permit only limited or no adjustment of bottle position while in use; and where possible, bottle angle adjustment is permitted only on the plane described by the chest of the adult.
Another form of prior nursing bottle holder involves a strap which encircles the body of the adult holding the infant, such as shown in Hampton et al, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,220,302 and Donahue. 4,498,613. This form of holder in general has many of the limitations described above and, while the device shown in Donahue permits some movement of the bottle, it apparently acts as little more than a safety rope for the bottle and requires the hands of the adult to position the bottle for the infant when the device is to be used.
In another prior form, the holder is in the shape of a bib or upper-body garment to be worn by the mother, such as shown in Patterson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,842. Holders of this type cannot be put on while holding the baby and have essentially no adjustability and thus suffer from the several disadvantages enumerated in connection with the first form described.
Still another form of nursing bottle holder hangs over the shoulder of the adult who is feeding the baby. Examples are illustrated in Vardan, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,893,672, 2,907,539 and 2,938,693. The holders shown in these patents have the advantage of being capable of being put on and taken off while holding the baby but they lack the adjustability often desired when feeding a baby. For example, they do not permit lateral movement of the bottle because the bottle is seemingly always held in the plane described by the chest of the wearer. They do not permit omni-directional bottle movement.